Tools

(07/23/2011) - Day two of Skate Detroit is in the books, and there were certainly some memorable performances.

Junior ladies free skate
Gracie Gold struggled through the opening jumps in her "Sugar Plum Fairy" free skate but then sailed through the rest of the program, receiving a first-place score of 155.89 points.

"At first, I was nervous because I was tight," Gold said. "I popped my opening Lutz, which is odd for me. I made mistakes on my first two jumps, so I told myself to focus and to calm down. The second half of the program I was a little winded. My hardest jumps are the loop and the flip, so when I landed them, I relaxed through the program."

With strong footwork and a clean free skate, reigning U.S. novice champion Hannah Miller posted a total score of 148.10.

"I've always enjoyed the artistic side of skating," said Cassar. "I love interpreting and creativity. My music talent developed through skating. At Oakland University, I learned about music structure, which has helped my music understanding."

Alex Zahradnicek rounds out the top three. He landed a triple flip-triple toe en route to a segment score of 57.60.

Keegan Messing had a rough skate, popping his planned quad. He scored 53.59 points for his Robin Hood program.

Senior ladies free skateNina Jiang's winning free skate, which netted 93.05 points, included a double Axel performed out of a spread eagle. She racked up 144.76 points for the competition.